


Flat Earth Theory

by flowersheep



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Post Hidden World
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-20 19:09:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20232895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flowersheep/pseuds/flowersheep
Summary: After a frustrating morning Astrid goes in search of her husband. She isn't surprised to find him lost deep in thought, but she is surprised by the subject of those thoughts.





	Flat Earth Theory

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this sitting around for a while and finally decided it's time I polished it up a little and posted it.
> 
> I am definitely on the bandwagon of Hiccup and Astrid having a third kid.

When Astrid finally found her husband it was on a cliff on the edge of the village facing the Hidden World. Immediately her irritation at being left to deal with their new baby and their two older children alone all morning evaporated. Everyone knew that letting the dragons leave had been the right decision, but that didn’t mean it had been an easy one. No amount of time would ever fully heal that wound. A part of Hiccup would always feel Toothless’s absence, just as a part of her would always feel Stormfly’s.

“We should plan an annual trip,” Astrid said, coming to stand at his shoulder.

Hiccup blinked and turned to her with a questioning, “Hm?”

“To the Hidden World,” Astrid clarified. “We could make it an annual thing to just sail out there and see how everything’s going. Plus, it’s a wonderful opportunity to spend time as a family, just us and the kids. I mean I know we have another baby now, which makes it a little more difficult, but you’ve been teaching Zephyr and Nuffink to sail, they’d both be able to help out. Here.” She handed their two month old baby to her husband, grateful for even the smallest break. She’d forgotten just how dependent a baby was and while she didn’t regret deciding to have another one she was positive this time it would be the last. “Toothless would probably love to meet the new baby anyway.”

“Oh, yeah, sure, that all sounds great,” Hiccup said absently. He’d started to sway back and forth, something Astrid had noted he did often when holding a baby. She watched for a moment as their daughter snuggled against her father before registering what he’d just said.

“Wait, isn’t that what you’ve been out here thinking about? Toothless? The Hidden World?”

“Well, yeah, sure of course I’ve been thinking about that, but that's not why I came out here this morning.” He went back to frowning at the ocean. Astrid looked as well, but she couldn’t for the life of her figure out what it was that her husband was finding so fascinating about it today. That wasn’t exactly unusual though. So many things went through Hiccup’s mind, only half of them understandable to the average Viking, that she could never keep track. In fact, she was sure Hiccup couldn’t even keep track.

“So then what have you been out here thinking about all morning while I dealt with your children all by myself?” Astrid asked, some of her earlier irritation returning. It had been hard enough before getting through the morning with just Nuffink and Zephyr. They didn't fight often, but when an argument did break out between them it tended towards epic levels. This morning in particular it had started after Nuffink had taken a bite of his sister’s apple without asking and then devolved into throwing every single object in the house at each other. Including the very sharp kitchen knives. Add to that the two month old baby desperately communciating that she was hungry now and absolutely would not wait to be nursed and Astrid had been ready to commit murder by the time she’d kicked her older two children out of the house so she could nurse in peace before taking the baby with her while she sought out her husband.

“Sorry,” Hiccup said, flashing her an apologetic smile. “I’ve been thinking recently about something Tuffnut’s been saying.”

“Oh Thor,” Astrid said, rolling her eyes. “I don’t even wanna know.”

“You know how he’s always saying the world is round?” Hiccup continued, ignoring her complaint.

“Which we all know is ridiculous.”

“Well, maybe it’s not.”

Astrid stared at her husband. “Hiccup, I think you’ve been working too hard lately. Have you been sleeping okay?”

He raised his eyebrows at her. “With a two month old baby in the house? No. But this isn’t a product of sleep deprivation, Astrid. I’m serious. I really think Tuffnut isn’t as crazy as he seems. At least, not about this.”

“Okay.” Astrid crossed her arms, gathering every ounce of patience she still possessed. It wasn’t a lot after the events of the morning, but she was determined to hear her husband out. She was still convinced this was the result of too much work and too little sleep, a combination Hiccup was all too prone to. It would probably be best if she took the baby and stayed with her parents tonight. Or maybe even convinced Hiccup to stay the night with his mother. Just anything so that he would be able to get a good night’s sleep instead of being woken up every couple of hours by the baby. Still, insane as some of Hiccup’s ideas could be, they generally came with some kind of logic. Not all of them, but most of them.

“I made a model,” Hiccup said. “And I’ve been thinking back on all our flights, particularly the longer journeys. Did you ever notice that islands seemed to rise up out of the distance?”

“No, not really,” Astrid said slowly. Hiccup was the one always looking towards the horizon. Even now, settled into his duties as chief and content with their family, there was still a part of him that longed for adventure. It was one of the things that had drawn her to him back when they were fifteen and that she still loved about him to this day.

“Well, I decided to test the theory. I’ve been watching one of our patrols come in.”

“I see.”

“When I first got here, the ocean was empty. No sign of anything, right?”

“Right.”

“Then I finally saw just the top of the sail through the spyglass. Then, a bit later, I saw more and more of the ship until the whole thing was visible. Why would it appear like that if the world were flat? I made a model.”

“Yes, you mentioned the model.”

“I made several models, actually. There’s one that depicts a flat earth, one that accounts for the earth having curvature, and one that accounts for the earth being completely round.”

Astrid snorted. “Yeah, babe, you definitely need more sleep.”

“While that may be true, my lack of sleep has nothing to do with this. I’ve been thinking about it on and off for years now. Listen, I know it sounds absolutely insane, but the spherical earth model actually makes the most sense!” Astrid wasn’t sure if holding their baby made Hiccup look more or less insane. He had turned to her with wide eyes halfway through the conversation and was absently wiggling a finger at their baby’s flailing hands. All she knew was that her husband looked far more sane right now than he had a right to.

“If the world is a sphere,” Astrid said slowly, hardly able to believe the words were coming out of her mouth, ”then why are there so many stories of ships falling off the edge of the earth?”

“Caldera,” Hiccup said. “Take the Hidden World for example! All of the stories about it said it existed at the end of the world. Except that when we flew there on Stormfly we could see with our own eyes that the ocean went on far beyond it. A ship, on the other hand, wouldn’t be able to see that as easily. If you don’t know that there’s a caldera there and you watch a ship sail into it and you just turn around and make a run for it, what would your assumption be?”

“That those people fell of the edge of the earth,” Astrid answered. If she’d been able to see her expression in a mirror she was sure she would look shocked. Because Hiccup’s insane theory, which was based on Tuffnut’s insane theory, was actually making sense. She reached out and put a hand on Hiccup’s shoulder as her entire view of the shape of the world died and was reborn in a distinctly spherical shape.

“Exactly! You know, I bet if you just held course and sailed in one direction, eventually you’d show up from the other direction.”

“You’re not doing that,” Astrid said immediately.

“Of course I’m not,” Hiccup said, much to her relief. “I couldn’t even begin to guess how long it would take to sail around the entire earth. I don’t know how big it is or what kind of obstacles I would face. It’s not like I can just ditch the tribe for an undetermined amount of time and assume they would all be okay. That wouldn’t end well.” He turned and leaned down to kiss the crown of Astrid’s head. “Besides, I’d miss you. And the kids.” Astrid smiled. “And I really wouldn’t wanna come back to find that you’d murdered our children out of frustration.”

"What makes you think I wouldn't come with you?"

"Neither of us wants to be stuck on a ship for that long with our kids."

"Fair point. Speaking of murdering our children, I’m glad you’ve had this exciting epiphany about the shape of the earth, but I would appreciate it if in the future you could have these epiphanies a little closer to home? Or like, some time other than the morning. Trying to nurse a baby while stopping Zephyr and Nuffink from killing each other is just too much. The baby did not appreciate having her meal interrupted while I confiscated the kitchen knives. And on top of that, I tried to make porridge and now it’s all over the floor.”

“Because of you or the kids?”

Astrid frowned. “Does it matter?” If it did it would definitely one hundred percent be because of the kids.

“No, I suppose it doesn’t. I’m sorry, Astrid. You’re right, it wasn’t fair of me to leave you to deal with all three kids all by yourself. I just, I meant to come out here for an hour, maybe a bit longer, and then I just… lost track of time.” He gave her a look. “You do know that there’s a reason I make sure our house is stocked with yak jerky and fruit and stuff, right? So that you don’t have to try and force feed our kids your cooking?”

“Hey, it’s not like it’s the worst porridge ever made! It tastes alright!”

“That’s true, I suppose. My mother’s porridge is worse. You know, if you just followed a recipe-“

“I don’t need a recipe!”

“Okay, but consider this: you need a recipe.”

Astrid scowled at her husband. “If you weren’t holding our baby right now I would hit you.”

Hiccup smiled. “I know.”

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like at this point in her life Valka is long at peace with the fact that she can't cook. She still does it because she thinks cooking is fun, but she's not offended when no one leaps to volunteer as a taste tester.
> 
> Astrid, on the other hand, is still in denial. She actually makes decent food when she follows a recipe, but is convinced that she doesn't need one. She likes experimenting with cooking, which would be great if she knew anything about how flavors work. But she doesn't.


End file.
